IN STEREO

No, no, I don’t take tourists up the mountain anymore. I bring the miners. I take them to Calvario [market] or sometimes even Caracoles [mine]. I haven’t gone up to the peak. Why not? Above Caracoles, I’d normally go on foot. At the end of ‘68, I had a little truck. In those years, there were not these dump trucks – everything was little trucks. I had a Ford model from ‘43. I used to go up until Llampu, they called it, then down. It’s a stage of mining where they wash it, grind it, and take out the mineral from there. I worked a couple of months, then I sold that little truck. Now it has changed, [getting] to Caracoles. The road is different; it is no longer where it was. It has improved. Before, it was rougher.

Now it is good; it is well-trodden. I think the Manquiri company does maintenance. Before, there was no such maintenance either. I like it now. It’s good; it looks like a highway. Plus, they water it [so it’s not so dusty]. That’s good. [But] look at the mountain. They have exploited it, and they continue to exploit it. Everything is a carnival. They continue taking it out. And in the end, God doesn’t want it to go and sink [just] because they work 24 hours a day taking out ore. It’s a shame that those we depend on, the authorities, have done nothing. This should be prohibited, sanctioned. Nobody says anything – and if they say “No,” they ignore it. It’s a shame, sincerely. – Don Dario